It took a second for me to understand.
Me?I mouthed, and they nodded in unison.
Let’s do it, whatever.
I approached Jackson expecting Tiffany to make a move. But when it came time to kiss him, I vacillated. My arm was folded on the backrest, and with my other hand, I brushed against his outstretched arm wrapped in his letterman’s jacket. I hesitated for a few seconds as I noticed that his shirt smelled pleasantly like fresh laundry while his face smelled like something fresh and manly that mingled with the vape smoke and beer on his breath.
I wet my lips involuntarily then ran my thumb on his lower lip. Jackson breathed in deeply and parted his lips, when finally I decided to kiss him. I held back a hiccup because the tip of his tongue grazed my lower lip while his cold lip ring tickled me, sending a chill down my spine. I was about to pull away, but when his tongue approached my mouth, I softened my lips and let him in. His breath became labored as our tongues caressed each other. He suctioned in the air, which caused me to stop kissing my best friend.
What the fuck?
I pulled my head back and wiped my lip with my hand. How could he not realize it was me? What was supposed to be a simple peck had turned out to be much more, even though it didn’t upset me.
“What the fuck kinda game is this?” Jackson removed the blindfold, irritated, and then looked at the brunet.
“Tiff?”
“No.” I giggled.
“Um.”
His milky white cheeks were tinged with red, and he stared at my mouth with an odd expression.
“Damn it, James,” he said, shoving me.
“What, you didn’t like it?” I provoked him, aware of the fact that he didn’t seem remotely irritated during the kiss. Even after finding out it was me, he looked enthusiastic.
The girls didn’t say a word.
“Everything okay?” I asked when I saw them staring at us.
I waved my hands in front of their vacant stares.
“It’s been . . .” Tiffany swallowed, unable to complete the sentence.
“Nice,” answered Taylor for her.
“All right, I’ll let you get back to your bullshit. I gotta go.” Jackson stood up and threw the blindfold on the ground.
“How are you getting home?” I was suddenly worried.
“Will’s picking me up. June’s with him. Actually, they’re waiting for me in my car outside,” he added, reading a text on my phone.
“Oh, okay. Are you sure everything’s okay?” I raised my voice a bit so Jackson would hear me since he was already at the door.
“Yeah. See you at school.”
“Oh man, and I was just starting to have fun,” whined Tiffany.
She pouted and hugged a pillow, pushing her boobs farther up in her bra.
“I’m still here, what are you worried about?”
“What’d you bring, Jamie?”
I let her put her hand near the button flap of my jeans to dig in my side pockets.
“Be . . .”
